Articulated toy set of building blocks



March 4, 1958 H. S. HAWKINS ARTICULATED TOY SET OF BUILDING BLOCKS Filed Oct. 7, 1955 INVENTOR HA V/LAH s. HA WK/NS United States Patent ARTICULATEDv TOY' SET OF BUILDING BLOCKS Havilah S. Hawkins, Sedgwi'ck, Maiue Application 0ctober'7,-1955, Serial:No. 539,091

3 Claims; (Cl. 46-26) This'invention is an articulated toy in the form of a string of blocksv threaded upon an elastic or resilient strand under tension.

Oneobject ofthe present invention. is to provide an articulated toy comprising a plurality of. blocks eachhavinga central bore and end kerfs communicating-therewith, the blocks being strung upon a resilient or elastic member or strand threaded through the longitudinal bores thereof and having its opposite ends anchored in the terminal blocks with the strand under tensionso that the several blocks may be articulated with respect to one another into various angular positionsin which different sideand/or end faces of the blocksa're, pressed'intoengagement with one another under theforce of the; tension strand on which the blocks are threaded.

Previous attempts have been made-to provide articulated toys of this general form, but the present invention seeks to provide a toy having structural features from which advantages accrue that are not resident in structures of the prior art.

With this in mind the present invention comprises a plurality of generally rectangular blocks, preferably square in cross section, each having a central bore extending therethrough from end to end and wherein opposite ends of the blocks are provided with transverse kerfs intersecting the bores, the depth of the kerfs being substantially equal to one-half the width of the block. By this arrangement side and end faces of adjacent blocks may be disposed in a common plane when adjacent blocks are arranged in angular relationship with respect to one another.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel manner of attaching or anchoring opposite ends of the resilient member within the terminal blocks of the string of blocks.

Another object of the invention is to provide means in connection with the kerfs at the ends of the block to facilitate ready entrance of the resilient strand into the kerfs when adjacent blocks are disposed angularly with respect to one another.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following specification when read in the light of the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the articulated toy with the blocks arranged in a rectangular pile;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the several blocks arranged in different angular positions with respect to one another;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the toy, with parts broken away;

Fig. 4 is a fragmental sectional view showing the manner in which the resilient strand is anchored to a terminal block;

Fig. 5 is a fragmental sectional view similar to Fig. 4 taken at a different angle and Fig. 6 is an end view of one of the blocks.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a preferred form of my invention and like-reference numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout; shown in the drawings, the toy of the present'invention oomprisesa plurality of blocks which may be made of wood, metal or plastic, and which are numbered 1, 2,

3, 4, 5 and 6. Each block is substantially square in cross section as shown in Fig. 6 andmay'be generally ends of each block are. provided with transverse kerfs indicated at 8. The kerfs are preferably disposed atright angles with respect to each. other and intersect generally the axisof bore 7 as clearlyshown in Fig. 6.

Any desired number of the blocks as-described maybe threaded or strung upon an elastic or resilient member 9 which in the present instance is shown as a strand of rubber. Obviously, a coiled spring: or similar resilient means may be employed if desired. The rubber strand 9 may be in the form of aribbon as shown or maybe agenerally cylindricalstrand if desired. The strand 9 hasits opposite endsianchored in the terminal blocks of the toy such asblocks land 6 of Fig. 2. The preferred manner ofpanchoring'the ends of the strand 9 is to wrap or loop the ends of, said strand around a'pair of pins ll positioned respectively in kerfs in thefreeencls ofthe' terminal blocksof thetoy'suchasblocks-l and 6 as shown in: Fig. 2. The. pins; are. disposed within the kerfs asclearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and the ends of the strand 9 may be secured to the respective pins by clips or hands 12, frictionally clamped about and securing the respective ends of the strand to the body thereof with the band under sufiicient tension to retain the blocks in position as shown in Figs. 1 and2.

It is understood, of course, that as the several blocks are disposed angularly with respect to one another as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the strand 9 enters one or the other of the kerfs 8 at the ends of the blocks, and lies along the bottom wall of the kerf. In order to facilitate passage of the strand into and out of said kerfs, the inside corners of the walls defining the kerfs may be convexly rounded as shown at 13 in Fig. 6. The kerfs 8 are dimensioned as to depth so that when adjacent blocks are disposed in positions such as illustrated in Fig. 2 such as blocks 1 and 2, and 3 and 4, the side faces of adjacent blocks (see blocks 3 and 4) or the side face of one block and the end face of another block (see blocks 1 and 2), will tend automatically to align themselves in a common plane. To this end the kerfs have a depth substantially equal to one-half the width of the block. If desired, the depth of the kerfs might be increased slightly beyond this geometric relationship, to allow for the thickness of the tensioned resilient strand in, order that this co-planar relationship may be more completely realized. It will be understood, of course, that this co-planar relationship is determined by the fact that the tensioned strand 9 in one block is positioned axially thereof and is therefore disposed at a distance from the side face of the block equal to the depth of a kerf in an adjacent block, in which kerf said strand lies. 7

Having thus described my invention, it is apparent that an articulated toy 'of improved construction has been provided. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a toy constructed as proposed, provides for arranging the blocks either in a geometrical pile as shown in Fig. 1 or in a series of diverse angular relationships as shown in Fig. 2 without the resilient strand 9 being visible. This is due to the fact that the strand is concealed within the bore 7 through the body of the block and lies against the bottom wall of Patented Mar'. 4,1958:

the kerfs 8 in the end of the blocks so snugly that it is difficult to discern. When the blocks are arranged in end to end relation as shown in Fig. 3, the strand 9 may be visible, on close inspection, through the open ends of the kerfs 8 in the side faces of the blocks, but the strand 9, being substantially coaxial with the central bore 7, can be seen only with difficulty.

Also it will be noted that by convexly rounding off the corner 13 of the kerf walls as shown in Fig. 6, the blocks may be quickly positioned in any of the angular relationships shown in Fig. 1 or Fig. 2 without any interference between the resilient strand and the kerf walls as might be occasioned if the sharp corners incident to the intersection of the kerfs were allowed to remain.

It will be understood that I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention but those skilled in the art to which the invention relates will realize that various changes may be made in the size and proportion of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention which is set forth more particularly in the appended claims.

What I claim as new is:

1. An articulated toy comprising a plurality of rectangular blocks of substantially the same square transverse cross section, each of said blocks being provided with a central bore extending lengthwise therethrough from end to end, each said block at the opposite ends thereof being provided with transverse kerfs lying in planes substantially parallel to the opposite side faces of the blocks and intersecting one another in the axis of said bore, said kerfshaving a depth substantially equal to one-half of the width of the block, a resilient strand threaded through and confined within aligned bores of the several blocks to form an articulated string of blocks. and means for anchoring opposite ends of said strand in the terminal blocks of the string of blocks under tension thereby rendering adjacent blocks articulable with respect to each other and against the tension of said strand for movement into positions in which the axes of the bores of said adjacent blocks are out of alignment with each other and the corresponding faces of adjacent blocks are disposed in substantially coplanar relation and are re tained in such position under tension developed in said strand and wherein that portion of the strand lying between the adjacent ends of the bores in said blocks is disposed substantially at right angles to portions of said strand confined within the bores of said adjacent blocks.

2. The toy described in claim 1 wherein said means for anchoring opposite ends of saidstrand in the terminal blocks comprises a pin freely disposed in a kerf in the outer free end of each terminal block in said string of blocks, said pins bridging the respective open ends of the bores in the respective terminal blocks, the opposite ends of said resilient strand being anchored to the respective pins with the strand under tension.

3. The toy described in claim 1 wherein the inside corners of the walls defining the intersecting kerfs are rounded ofi to facilitate entrance of the resilient strand into said kerfs when the blocks are moved out of end to end relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Finch May 3, i910 

